Truck for handling metal pigs



F. J? PRUCHA TRUCK FOR HANDLING METAL PIGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 14, 194

INVENTOR fiahifffiwra BY ATTORNEY V Dec. 29, 1942. F. J. PRUCHA TRUCK FOR HANDLING METAL PIGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 14, 1941 hm mm Patented Dec. 29, 1942 FOR HANDLING METAL PIGS Frank J. Prucha, Omaha, Nebr., assignor to American smelting and Refining Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 14, 1941, Serial No. 374,321

6 Claims.

This invention relates to trucks for use in metallurgical plants for transporting heavy bars or ingots of metal with particular reference to a truck for handling piles of pig-lead.

In loading pig-lead or the like into freight cars for transportation, it is necessary to limit the height of each pile of pigs in order to reduce the weight at any one point and to space the piles 'on the floor in accordance with the required weight distribution. In the plant, however, it is frequently desirable to stack the pigs in a considerably higher pile in order to economize on floor space. For example, each stack of pigs in the plant may be of such a height as to require division into two piles when loaded in a freight car.

In using a mechanically driven truck, the time for loading depends in large part upon the number of piles carried at each trip and the ease of unload ng the truck. If one pile is carried at a time, twice as many trips will be required as if two piles were carried. However, if two piles are carried, a substantial amount of time is required 7 in unloading or setting them down on the floor of a car because pf the number of unloading operations required. For example, if a double pile is carried, the truck must first be positioned and the double pile set down on the floor of the car. After releasing all of the pigs and backing the truck, the carriage is then raised to a position to engage the top half of the pile, the truck run in to bring the carriage into lifting position, the

carriage raised to lift the top half of the pile from the bottom half, the truck backed up to a new position and the carriage lowered to deposit the pile on the floor. This sequence of operations is time consuming and, to a large extent, neutralizes the saving in time involved in carrying a double pile from the plant, particularly if the trip is short. 7 It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a truck for carrying a double pile of pigs or the like which truck is capable of loading and unloading with a minimum number.

of operations.

Another object is to above type having novel and improved details of construction and characteristics of operation.

Another object is to provide a truck which is capable of carrying two piles of metal and which may be loadedand unloaded in substantially the same length of time as a truck carrying a single pile of metal.

Another object is to provide a truck of the above type which is simple and efllcient in operation.

provide a truck of the III Various otherobjects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thisinvention are pointed out more particularly in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself may be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawbeen set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a truck embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof and 7 Fig.3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. V j

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the invention is shown as applied to a pig-lead truck having a chassis comprising a pair of side pieces Ill and cross pieces I I and I2 joined together to form a frame. A rear steering wheel l4 and a pair of drivingwheels I 5 are mounted on the frame in the usual manner. Inner side pieces it are attached to the side pieces III for strengthening purposes and to form a guide for the-carriage to be described. The side pieces l6 extend on the inside of the wheels l5 and are joined to the outer side pieces Ill at the front of said l wheels by suitable angle pieces l1.

may be provided with a driving motor 20, a steeringhandle 2| connected by a linkage comprising sprockets 22 and 23 and chain 24 to a post 25 carrying the steering wheel M. The .driving motor 20 may be connected through a transmission 26 to drive the wheels IS. The chassis may be of any standard construction and only so much thereof has been described as is necessiary to an understanding of the present invent on. r

, In accordance with the present invention, the truck is provided with a pair of telescoping carriages comprising a lower carriage 30 and an upper carriage 3|. The upper carriage 3| is formed with a back plate 32 and side plates 33 which are secured together in the form ,of an open front box. The side plates 33 are fomcd at their front with outwardly bent flanges 34 and carry at their bottom edges angle pieces or runners 35 which are adapted to pass beneath shoulders on the ends of a for lifting the same.

i provided with re-enforcing members 42.

The upper carriage 3| is elevated by a set of 65 cables which extend over sprockets 46 and 41 ings in which a specific embodiment thereof has The truck pig 4| of lead or the like The runners 35 may be and are connected to a hoisting winch 68, which is driven by a suitable hoisting motor, not shown. The sprockets 46 and 41 are carried by cross members 48 and 49 respectively which are attached to side plates 50 carried by the inner side pieces I6 of the frame. The cables 45 are attached to ears formed on the side plates 33 near the front thereof and to ears 52 formed on the back piece 32 and are arranged to lift the carriage 3| vertically for loading and unloading the same.

The lower carriage comprises a back plate 55 and a pair of side plates 56 which are joined to form an open front box-like structure similar to that of the upper carriage 3|. The side plates 56 are provided at their front with outwardly. bent fianges 5l and carry at their lower edges angle pieces forming runners 58 adapted to engage beneath the shoulders 40 of a pig 4| for lifting the same. The side plates 56 are provided with guides 60 running in channels 6| formed by plates 62 carried by the inner side pieces |6. The back plate 55 and side plates 56 of the lower carriage carry pins 64 and 65, respectively, which engage slots 66 and 61, respectively, formed in the back plate 32 and side plates 33 of the upper carriage 3|. The arrangement is such that the upper carriage may telescope completely within the lower carriage for unloading purposes. When the upper carriage is in its non-telescoped position, however, the bottoms of the slots 66 and 61 engage the pins 64 and 65 for lifting the lower carriage as shown in Fig. 2.

When the above described truck is to be loaded, the upper carriage is brought into a position such that the runners are adapted to extend beneath the shoulders of a pig 4|a which is to constitute the lower pig of the upper pile. The runners 56 are then just above the floor and are adapted to engage beneath the shoulders 4|) of pig 4|b which is to form the bottom pig of the lower pile. With the upper and lower carriages in this position, as shown in Fig. 1, the truck is advanced to position the runners 35 and 58 beneath the shoulders 40 of the respective pigs of the pile. Power is then applied to the cables to raise the upper carriage 3|.

Due to the clearance between the pins 64 and 65 and the bottoms of the slots 66 and 61, the upper carriage 3| is first elevated without producing a corresponding movement of the lower carriage. The top half of the stack of pigs, which is adapted to constitute the top pile, is thus lifted by the upper carriage, as shown in Fig. 2. Continued movement of the upper carriage causes the bottoms of the slots 66 and 61 to engage the pins 64 and 65 and thereby elevate the lower carriage and lift the lower half of the stack of pigs thus forming two vertically aligned piles.

The piles thus held may be transported by the truck to the freight car or the like in which they are to be unloaded. For unloading the piles the carriages 36 and 3| are lowered by suitable actuation of the cables 45 to a position corresponding to that of Fig. 2 in which the lower pile is released by the runners 58 while the upper pile is still held suspended by the runners 35. The truck is then backed away from the lower pile to the position in which the second pile is to be deposited and the upper carriage 3| is then lowered to deposit the upper pile on the floor. In this position the two carriages are completely telescoped. After the upper pile has thus been released, the truck may be backed to withdraw the runners and thereby complete the unloading operation.

In the above described construction, it is to be noted that the upper and lower piles are both loaded in the same operation and only a single positioning of the truck is required. The hoisting means isso constructed that the upper half of the stack is first picked up by the upper carriage and the lower half of the stack is then picked up by the lower carriage. The two piles thus formed are carried in vertical alignment to any point desired and may be successively deposited either in the same pile or in different piles as required. The time required for loading and unloading is substantially the same as that required for loading and unloading a single pile of pigs and the only additional operation required is the backing-of the truck to a new position between the releasing of the lower pile and the releasing of the upper pile.

It is, of course, obvious from the drawings and foregoing description that the truck may be employed to load and carry two piles and discharge them as a single pile simply by reversing the sequence of operations. Thus, with both carriages telescoped in lowered position,- the truck is run over the first pile and that pile loaded by raising the top carriage to non-telescoped position. The truck is then advanced and the second pile loaded upon the lower carriage by raising both'carriages. The two piles may then be discharged as a single one by lowering the carriages to the position previously described with respect to loading a single pile, and backing the truck away.

While the above described truck is particularly adapted for loading pig-lead onto railway cars, it is to be understood that it is capable of various usesand that a specific embodiment has been referred to only for purposes of-illustration. The

truck may be adapted for handling various metal said upper and lower carriages to engage and carshapes either in pig form or in finished form or may be used for handling various articles which are normally arranged in piles or stacks,

What is claimed is:

1. A truck of the class described comprising a plurality of telescoping carriages each having a load supporting surface arranged to carry individual piles of material in vertically-spaced relationship a single lifting means for raising and lowering each of said carriages, said lifting means being adapted to raise said carriages in sequence from top to bottom and to lower said carriages in reverse sequenceand mechanism adapted to lower the load supporting surface of the uppermost carriage to a position adjacent the load supporting surface of the lowermost carriage when the latter is in its lowermost position.

2. A truck of the class described, comprising upper and lower carriages arranged to engage and carry, respectively, the top and bottom portions of a pile of material, lifting means arranged to first lift the upper carriage for picking up the top por ion of the pile of material and then to lift the lower carriage for picking up the lower portion of said pile, said lifting means being arranged to successively lower said carriages to the same discharging position in a reverse sequence whereby each portion of the original pile of material may be individually discharged as a separate pile.

3. A truck of the class described, comprising upper and lower carriages, said upper carriage being constructed and arranged to telescope downwardly into the lower carriage, means on ry, respectively, the top and bottom portions'of a pile ol material, lilting means to first elevate the upper carriage for lifting the upper portion of the pile of material and then to elevate the lower carriage for lifting the lower portion thereof whereby the material is carried in two vertically spaced piles, said first to lower the lower carriage into discharge lifting means being adapted position and then to lower the .upper carriage into discharge position whereby the two piles may be discharged independently.

4. A truck for conveying a plurality of piles of pig-metal or the like comprising upper and lower carriages arranged in telescoping relationship, means on each of said carriages to engage and lift a pile of pig-metal, said lower carriage being adapted to engage the bottom pig of a stack and said upper carriage being adapted to engage an intermediate pig of said stack, means marriage riage disposed between said wheels, said carriage comprising a back plate and side plates and lift-' ing runners for said pig-metal secured to each side plate, guide means guiding said carriage for vertical lifting movement with respect to said frame, an upper carriage of similar construction to said lower carriage and comprising back and side plates and lifting runners, said upper carriage being arranged to telescope within said lower carriage, guide means for guiding said upper carriage in such telescoping movement, stop means arranged to interconnect said upper and lower carriages for lifting as a unit when said upper carriage is in non-telescoped position. and lifting means attached to said upper 6. A truck of the class described comprising upper and lower telescoping carriages, connecting means to permit the upper carriage to be telescoped within the lower carriage for discharging a load, said connecting means being adapted'to interconnect said upper and lower carriagesfor lifting both carriages as a unit when said upper carriage is in non-telescoped position, and lifting means connected to said upper carriage for raising and lowering the same.

. FRANK J. PRUCHA 

